d boy, and forbade him to enter
her house again. Then she wept, and kissed her little half-strangled
Bellissima. At this moment the painter entered the room--and here is the
turning point of the story.

In the year 1834 there was an exhibition in the Academy of Arts at
Florence. Two pictures, placed side by side, attracted many people. The
smaller of the two represented a little boy sitting at a table drawing.
Before him was a little white poodle, curiously shaven, but as the
animal would not stand still, its head and tail had been fastened with a
string, to keep it in one position. The truthfulness and life in this
picture interested every one. The painter was said to be a young
Florentine, who had been found in the streets when a child by an old
glovemaker, who had brought him up. The boy had taught himself to draw.
It was also said that a young artist, now famous, had discovered this
talent in the child just as he was about to be sent away for having tied
up madam's favorite little dog to use as a model.

The glovemaker's boy had become a really great painter, as the picture
proved; but the larger picture by its side was a still greater proof of
his talent. It represented a handsome boy asleep, clothed in rags and
leaning against the Metal Pig, in the street of the Porta Rosa. All the
spectators knew the spot well. The child's arms were round the neck of
the Pig, and he was in a deep sleep. The lamp before the picture of the
Madonna threw a strong light on the pale, delicate face of the child. It
was a beautiful picture. A large gilt frame surrounded it, and on one
corner of the frame a laurel wreath had been hung. But a black band,
twined unseen among the green leaves, and a streamer of crape hung down
from it; for within the last few days the young artist had--died.

[Illustration]

THE FLYING TRUNK

THERE was once a merchant who was so rich that he could have paved a
whole street with gold, and would even then have had enough left for a
small alley. He did not do so; he knew the value of money better than to
use it in this way. So clever was he that every shilling he put out
brought him a crown, and so it continued as long as he lived.

His son inherited his wealth, and lived a merry life with it. He went to
a masquerade every night, made kites out of five-pound notes, and threw
pieces of gold into the sea instead of stones, making ducks and drakes
of them.

In this manner he soon lost all hi